Christmas food to buy/avoid

Edwardia

With all the pre-Christmas buying and the snapping up of bargains, I am thinking that lots of us tried new things either at home or at other peoples' homes.

For example we had some Abba brand (I kid you not) Swedish pickled herring in a jar from Ocado that is slightly sweeter and with less astringent vinegar than rollmops here. The fish wasn't rolled and 'staked', there were lots of small bits so once drained it could be used in salads or sandwiches. We all (three) really enjoyed it.

Tried Opies pickled quails' eggs (Waitrose or Sainsbury's I forget) and it was just all strong vinegar and no real egg taste. In fact I thought there was no difference in taste between the more expensive pickled quails' eggs and the Chef's Larder chip shop-style pickled eggs I got from Shorters Club.

Higgedy Christmassy pie with turkey, bacon and stuffing was fantastic. Really really tasty.

The small Laverstoke Park organic beef roasting joint I picked up on offer from Ocado was fantastic. OH slow-roasted it Christmas Eve and we had it cold sliced and it was just so tender and moist and MMM.. it was even better with Hayward's piccalilli

Hershey's Kisses..eww no, they kinda leave a grainy taste in the mouth. I used to like these when I lived in Canada but I think even bad UK chocolate is better than these !

So those are a few of mine because we ate less than I thought and not everything tried yet.

Any old favourites ? Old favourites that were disappointing ? New things you had never tried before ? Did you like the YS stuff you got ?

alfsmum

We tried Heston's mince pies from Waitrose for a treat as it was a pack of 4 and we don't eat much pastry based food so didn't want many. Very disappointed, thought the pastry was very dense and heavy and there was very little mincemeat. Will definitely be making my own again next year.

matty17r

Waitrose's mini cooked sauages seemed to taste about the same at the other supermarkets but more expensive. Their own cheese quiche far far superior than other supermarkets and their own essential coleslaw as well.

markwilkinson

Had Sainsbury Taste The Difference pigs in blankets for the first time this year, usually just buy the 'normal' ones. Bought 2 packs on yellow stickers a couple of weeks ago though. Fantastic!

A Christmas treat for us is Pedro Ximanez which is a sherry - google it as there's a few different varieties. Independent wine merchants should stock it and some varieties are available on Amazon. It's fantastic!

TravellingAbuela

I got a Harrods Christmas Pud from a stall on Skipton market (they sell off lots of nice things approaching the sell-by date cheaply) and it was yummy, with a beautiful texture. Also got an M & S Christmas cake from the same stall and not impressed with that at all, finding it a bit heavy - will be back to making my own again next year!